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Tonight was the kind of game that you really want to see from a team that’s becoming a contender. The Spurs took a lead early and kept building on it throughout the game. The Hawks were on the second night of a back-to-back, as were the Spurs, but the home team looked like the more exhausted team, and except for a short surge to start the third quarter, they didn’t provide much of a contest tonight. Wembanyama dominated the game in limited minutes, but everyone on the Spurs had some nice plays, and the Hawks just looked overmatched. The Spurs outscored the Hawks by significant margins in the first three quarters, and even in extended garbage time, the Spurs bench crew held court, only getting outscored by two points in the fourth. Nickeil Alexander-Walker had a nice game for the home team, but the rest of the Hawks had a bad night as the Spurs dominated from end-to-end on what could be the easiest win of the year for them so far. This was the fifth straight win for the Spurs, because as we all know, the NBA Cup Finals don’t count, which means that the Spurs are on their longest win streak of the season.
Victor had 26 points in an efficient 21 minutes, and Devin Vassell had a nice 18 point game. Stephon Castle filled up the stat sheet with 17 points and 7 assists, which could have been more if he hadn’t rested most of the fourth quarter. The end of the Spurs bench got some valuable experience in extended garbage time as the Hawks had to play their starters with a lot of players unavailable due to injury.
* Jacob Tobey had a nice interview with De’Aaron Fox before the game. He started his career with the Spurs last season in a February game against the Hawks. I think it’s taken a while for Spurs fans to warm up to Fox, since he joined the team late last year and missed a lot of time after he decided to finally fix his messed up finger and get surgery. He’s been great this season, and Spurs fans are starting to see how he’s a really good player and a great teammate.
* The Spurs are 7-1 against teams from the Eastern Conference, only losing to the Cavaliers. If you say that they also lost to the Knicks, you would be wrong, because that loss is not on the books.
* Spurs were extra motivated for a win tonight, because they own the Hawks first round pick next summer. Two wins by the Spurs this year in their matchups could have San Antonio moving up a spot or two in the draft order, and who knows, maybe even into the lottery?
* Spurs started off on a 4-8 heater from three led by Devin Vassell to take an 18-11 lead, causing Quinn Snyder to take an early timeout. _\[That dude always looks mad. He might have eaten something that disagrees with him.\]_
* Wembanyama came off the bench again tonight, but got into the game halfway through the first quarter, signaling that Coach Mitch might be starting to trust the kid.
* Is there a better trio of guards on one team in the League than Fox, Castle, and Harper? I don’t think so.
* Spurs led 32-19 after one quarter, and it didn’t even feel like they played that well on offense, but the Hawks looked like it was their first time playing basketball for much of the quarter, and I’m going to give the Spurs defense credit for that.
* Finally saw the Kornet Kontest early in the game today. The shot was missed, so it must have worked.
* Barnes finally hit a three-point shot half way through the second quarter breaking is 0-18 drought in the last several games, although some of those misses might not have counted.
* If Victor Wembanyama’s string of blocks is ever broken, it’s going to be because players don’t even try taking shots when he’s near them. He’s basically erasing their shot because they won’t even try it, but it doesn’t count as a block in the official stats. He finally got his block in the third quarter, but he didn’t have a lot of opportunities.
* After a dominant second quarter with Wembanyama scoring 11, the Spurs led 68-44 at the half, seemingly in full control of the game. The 24 point lead was their biggest halftime lead so far this season.
* The Hawks came out in the third with a purpose, reminiscent of last night’s game where they also trailed by 24 against Charlotte, but made it a game in the second half, beginning the half on a 7-2 run, causing an early Mitch Johnson timeout. I think that’s an improvement in Johnson’s coaching, because he wasn’t always calling timeouts when the Spurs were struggling, and he’s taking more control of the game this season.
* The Spurs weathered the Hawks early run, and put them away with a Wembanyama-fueled flurry to an 8-0 run to take a 26 point lead., their biggest of the game so far. After they slow start, the Spurs outscored the Hawks in the third by six and led 102-72 with a quarter to play.
* The Spurs continued to dominate in the fourth, with Wemby taking a seat early in the quarter after wrecking the Hawks in an economical 21 minutes of play. With a 38 point with 10 minutes left, the fourth quarter was going to be a lot of extended garbage time. Jordan McLaughlin shared the court with Lindy Waters III and Jeremy Sochan, who is still in search of his lost mojo. Carter Bryant got some reps, which he’s going to need. The bench unit held the line, only getting outscored by 2 in the fourth quarter, with Jordan McLaughlin leading the way with some nice plays in the extended garbage minutes.
The Spurs travel to Washington for a game on Sunday night after this game for a rematch with the Wizards, who were fairly competitive with San Antonio a few days ago for about two and a half quarters before the Spurs took over the game late and won by 25 points. With any luck, Sunday’s game will be more of the same.
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